Odisha eyes Aadhaar cards for all by December

After several delays and missed deadlines, Odisha Government today announced an ambitious target to complete issuance of Aadhaar cards to the people living in the state by end of December.

The decision was announced by Odisha Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi after a meeting with Deputy Director General of Aadhaar scheme MVS Ram Reddy at the State Secretariat today.

“The State Government plans to distribute the cards to people aged below 18 years on a priority. To make this possible, it aims to start issuing cards at aanganwadis, hostels and schools. A directive has already been issued to the district collectors on this count,” said Padhi speaking to reporters after the meeting.

According to numbers provided by Ram Reddy, Aadhaar cards have been issued to about 3.45 crore people of the state as of now.

The government will have to distribute 8.9 million more cards by end of December, according to the announcement.